Natural gas traded in New York jumped on Wednesday trading session extending previous' day gains amid speculation that heating oil inventories in the U.S. dropped by more than forecast as cold weather boosted demand. Natural gas for settlement in March advanced 20.4 cents and was last traded at $4.930 a million British thermal units as of 12:50 p.m. on the
Italy's benchmark 10-year government bonds increased on Wednesday session with the yields falling towards the weakest level in an eight-year period after the borrowing costs of Portugal and Greece slipped to lowest levels since 2010. Italian 10-year notes yielded at 3.69% as of 1:14 p.m. in London following a drop to 3.66%, the least since February 2006.
Borrowing costs in Europe declined towards the lowest levels since 2010 after recent data showed an improvement in the region's economy as the euro-area confidence increased and manufacturing accelerated in January. The German 10-year yields were last seen at 1.69%, while the Greek 10-year notes yielded at the weakest level in 4 years at 7.41%.
U.S. Treasuries decreased on Wednesday falling for the second straight day before an auction planning to sell $24 billion of U.S. notes and as the new Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen pledges to keep trimming stimulus measures. The benchmark 10-year securities yielded two basis points higher at 2.74% as of 7:16 a.m. New York time.
The Britain's central bank signaled that its benchmark interest rates are likely to stay unchanged this year as the country's jobless rate declined at a faster rate than originally expected, the Monetary Policy Committee showed in the Inflation Report on Wednesday. The Bank of England may raise its refinancing rates in the Q2 of 2015 matching economists' projections.
Inflation in India measured as consumer price index declined at a start of the new year together with a drop in industrial production recorded in the December, a report published by the Central Statistical Office showed on Wednesday. India's consumer price index fell from December's 9.87% to 8.79% in January, while industrial output slipped 0.6% in December.
Business investments in Japan will most likely to slow down in the coming period probably caused by a decline in housing construction, a report released by the Capital Economics showed on Wednesday. The company's survey showed that machinery orders slipped notably by 15.7% on a monthly basis in December, making it one of the biggest falls in history.
Exports and imports in the world's second largest economy expanded surprisingly at the beginning of 2014 despite general expectations that the region's economy have lost its momentum, the latest data revealed by the General Administration of Customs unveiled on Wednesday. China's exports added 10.6% in January, while imports gained 10% in the same month.
Industrial production in the 18-nation bloc declined in the month of December falling by more than economists originally expected, however the region's growth may still be strong enough, a report published by the statistical office Eurostat showed on Wednesday. The Eurozone's industrial output shrank 0.7% in December following an increase by 1.6% in November.
Global shares advanced on Wednesday as the gauge measuring performance of world-wide stocks was set to record its longest streak of gains in a five-month period as it increased for the sixth day on upbeat China's trade data. The MSCI All-Country World Index surged 0.3%, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index outside Japan added 0.9% today.
Wall Street shares fluctuated earlier on Wednesday session after the benchmark stock index Standard & Poor's 500 increased towards the all-time high in the previous four days, when was last traded 1.6% below its record high of 1,8430.38. Stocks surged broadly on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled that it may continue to trim its stimulus as
The British Sterling increased on Wednesday trading session reaching the highest level in a two-week period versus its U.S. counterpart after the Bank of England improved a growth forecast in the quarterly report and signaled it may raise its benchmark rates next year. The Pound added 0.6% to $1.6558, the most in two weeks, and traded above $1.6480 alter during
The Australian Dollar increased on Wednesday trading session hitting the strongest level in a month after a government report showed that China's trade balance improved in the last month and as the new U.S. Federal Reserve Chai Janet Yellen testified to lawmakers yesterday. The so-called Aussie advanced 0.2% to $0.9052 following a gain to the most since January 13 at
Janet Yellen, the Fed's new chairwoman, said to Congress that she approves the monetary policy of Ben Bernanke and will continue to work in the same direction, tapering stimulus in line with labor market improvement. Moreover, the 6.5% jobless rate will not mean an automatic increase of interest rates, as the Fed will track other important indicators, such as job
According to the International Monetary Fund officials, Japanese economy does not need any additional stimulus so far, as inflation is increasing towards its target of 2%. At the same time, the BoJ should think about new easing, if inflation stops rising. Moreover, the BoJ economists say that for now any additional easing may bring more negative than positive effects for
Total SA, the French-headquartered oil and gas producer, reported a considerable decline in its profit for last three months of 2013, as production and oil prices decreased. Net income dropped 31% to 1.605 billion euro on the annual basis. However, the company increased its dividend payments. Today, Total SA shares are trading up 1% to 44.00 euro by 10:10 GMT
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an increase of the debt ceiling on Tuesday evening, voting with a 221-201 majority, as only 28 Republicans joined the Democratic minority to vote for the document. Therefore, now the Treasury is allowed to borrow till March 15, 2015. However, the bill still has to go through a vote in the Senate, where 60
French current account posted a considerable improvement in December of the last year, as surplus in trade of services rose from 3.4 billion euro to 4.2 billion euro, while goods trade deficit widened from 4.8 billion euro to 5.1 billion euro. Therefore, the overall negative current account balance improved to 1.2 billion euro in December, falling from 1.9 billion euro
Activity in the service sector of Japan plummeted more than predicted in December of 2013, falling 0.4% on a monthly basis, while analysts waited for a slight 0.2-0.3% decrease. In November, however, the data was revised up from a 0.7% to 0.8% increase. Decrease in activity was registered in retail trade, finance, postal, real estate, utility and personal services spheres
The total number of orders for machinery in Japan plunged considerably in December of the previous year, while the pace of decrease reached the highest level since 1998. Analysts say that growth in business investment may slow in the nearest future. Concerning orders, they slipped 15.7% on a monthly basis, however, economists predicted the indicator to lose only 4%.
Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed for a fifth straight day, as Janet Yellen, the Fed's Chairman, said a lot of work should be done to improve the labour market. The main gainer in the Stoxx 600 among 19 industry groups was car manufacturing industry. Michelin & Cie. added 3.5%, while Barclays Plc dropped 4.6%. The Stoxx 600 gained 0.7% to 327.45 in London.
U.S. stocks almost unchanged after a three-day advance in the Standard $ Poor's 500 Index, since Janet Yellen the Fed's Chairman said a lot of efforts should be invested to improve the labor market, and so the Fed continues taping its monthly assets purchasing. The stimulus boosted the S&P 500 to gain 173% higher from the lowest level in 12 years in 2009. Today
Canadian shares gained for a sixth straight day, making it the longest streak of gains this year, as gold price rose to a three-month high on better physical demand in U.S. and China. The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index added 0.7% to 13,886.17 as of 9:56 a.m. Toronto time. The regional benchmark index has advanced 2.9% in the last six
Natural gas futures advanced for the first time during five days in New York amid speculation the data will show an above-normal drop in stockpiles of the heating fuel since cold weather support demand. Natural gas delivery for March added 1,6%, or 7.5 cents, reaching to $4.654 against million British thermal units, leading to the 10% growth of the futures this year.